


because it's gravity (keeping you with me)

by chronology, sumaru



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: 5+1 Things, Accidental Kissing, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Space, Botany, Ground Control Iwaizumi Hajime Suffers So Much And Deserves A New Best Friend, Illustrated, KISS KISS FALL INTO LOW EARTH ORBIT, Kissing, M/M, Oikage Day, Outer Space, So Many Shoujo Tropes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2018-09-01
Packaged: 2019-07-05 17:58:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15868800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chronology/pseuds/chronology, https://archiveofourown.org/users/sumaru/pseuds/sumaru
Summary: Kageyama learns three different things very quickly in his first week.One, that Oikawa’s prime lettuce specimen is called Iwa-chan #1.Two, that the Iwaizumi-san back on Earth is called Iwa-chan #2.Three, that the moment he confuses these two will be, without fail, the moment Oikawa forgets to tell himexactlyhow artificial the artificial gravity cycle is on the space colony.Of all the things to come in between talented astrobotanist Kageyama Tobio and his petty, infuriating, ridiculously attractive senpai, he didn't quite expect space lettuce, evenmorespace lettuce, and the very forces of gravity.Or: five times Kageyama and Oikawa almost kiss in space, and the one time they actually do.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> With art by the wonderful [hachibani](https://twitter.com/hachibani)!
> 
> Special thanks to the team for their help and support while we were making fools out of ourselves over space lettuce.
> 
> JAXA = Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
> 
> Please note that Chapter 1 is the work in its original form with all the art; Chapter 2 is the text only for those who prefer to read it that way.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

 

 

 

 _No matter how many light years away you are from Earth,_  
_there’s always some things you can bet on._

 

Rumbles are unsettling his stomach by the time that Kageyama enters the canteen, plucks food and drink packets from the storage, and anchors himself to one of the walls. He’d been out and about today to check on things in the space colony for ground control and compile a report before hunger got the best of him. The satisfying smell of curry wafts from the packet when Kageyama tears it open, spiced and sweet. It reminds him of Earth.

“ _So? Did you meet your beloved senpai yet?_ ”

Kageyama grunts at the sound of Tsukishima’s voice and takes a bite of curry. He’d forgotten that Tsukishima’s on the ground, listening to Kageyama and receiving all the reports he sends over.

“No, I’ve been doing some preliminary checks first.” 

“ _I thought you would go running to him the instant you got there._ ”

Kageyama just begins stuffing curry into his mouth, not dignifying that with a properly vocalised response. Tsukishima is still a pain in the ass despite the kilometres now between them. He thought maybe getting away from sharing a lab with him would change things, but it doesn’t seem like that’ll be the case here.

“ _Don’t ignore me. You were talking about your senpai so much before you left. Have you finally gotten over your obsession with Oikawa?_ ”

Kageyama chokes, his spoon jerks, his fingers squeeze hard around the curry packet, and a piece of potato escapes.

“ _I know the curry is sticky, but don’t die. I still need today’s report._ ” And Tsukishima easily exits from the conversation. Kageyama’s too busy recovering to try getting him back on the line to chew him out.

Once the lurching coughing stops, his next focus is on the stray potato that’s ascending above him. He rolls his packet closed so nothing else flies away and pushes himself off from the closest surface to chase after it. Kageyama’s almost reached his goal, lips ready and open to take that stray piece of curry-covered potato — until it disappears into someone else’s mouth. 

“What the—”

Kageyama immediately tilts his head up to see a familiar face. Oikawa Tooru is only a centimetre or two away, smug smile and all, and something skips in Kageyama’s chest. They’re so close that Kageyama can even see bits of sticky brown curry colouring Oikawa’s otherwise pearly white teeth. 

 _Gross,_ he thinks, though he can feel his body’s own betrayal in the staccato of his heart. If Oikawa notices, he gives no indication while drawing back. It’s a relief until Kageyama’s trying to take a sip of his milk and finds that he can’t due to Oikawa’s hand on his arm, the blue latex of Oikawa’s glove against his skin.

They haven’t seen each other in years and this is how Oikawa greets him.

Oikawa’s fingers are quick to lock around his wrist, and their eyes meet as Oikawa’s lips slowly close over the straw, as if to taunt him, like a cat about to get the cream of the crop. It’s uncomfortably silent when Oikawa sucks hard, the slurping noise the only sound between them. Kageyama strangely can’t bring himself to look away either. It’s as if he’ll be conceding to defeat if he does, even just for a moment. He can’t have that.

Still, Oikawa looks very similar to when they’d last seen each other at the academy. Oikawa’s eyes, even through his glasses, possess the same boundless determination he’d witnessed when they were younger. Back then, Oikawa had been so far ahead of him; now, they’re both the same, different paths leading to the same ending. It’s a thought still difficult for Kageyama to fathom, especially with how childish this Oikawa is being, drinking _his_ milk without remorse.

Maybe fifteen — or twenty? — seconds pass before Kageyama finally cracks under the weight of Oikawa’s gaze. He shifts in his seat with his wrist wiggling helplessly in Oikawa’s grip.

"Oikawa-san."

Oikawa only continues slurping.

_"Oikawa-san."_

Sluuuuuurp.

The slurping is annoying at best and grating at worst with Oikawa so insistently close for no reason; a disgusted shudder runs down the length of Kageyama’s spine. Oikawa had already taken a bite from his lunch and now he was determined to take his drink? It may have been years since they were in training together, and they may not have had the best relationship back then, but Kageyama doesn’t remember Oikawa being _this_ annoying, or _this_ petty, or _this_ awful.

Despite how terrible Oikawa has been, or how obnoxious his drinking is, Kageyama cannot help but take the time to really look at Oikawa again. They’ve been so busy flitting in and out of each other’s routines since his arrival that they haven’t really seen each other before this.

Kageyama’s eyes naturally drift to Oikawa’s lips, wrapped around the straw. They are curled tight and pink, a pretty colour, a useless thought. He stops himself before his mind goes down an unnecessary spiral.

Oikawa finishes every last drop of the milk until he’s only sucking air. After, he just shamelessly lets go of Kageyama’s wrist and leaves him with the empty packet, looking supremely proud of himself for a reason Kageyama can’t comprehend.

Tsukishima’s voice breaks through Kageyama’s dumbfounded silence.

“ _Sounds like you just met him._ ”

“...Yeah.”

Tsukishima _tsks_.

 

 

 

*   *   *

 

 

 

_—Ground control, this is mission specialist Oikawa Tooru. You’ll never guess who I ran into today._

_—Ground control to mission specialist Shittykawa Tooru. If you’re making me guess Kageyama because that’s all you’ve been ranting about since you found out he’s being sent up, I’m going to go up there and kick your shitty ass myself._

_—Ground control, I cannot believe the language you’re using right now at me, the shining light and future hope of interplanetary travel._

_—Mission specialist supremely shitty Shittykawa Tooru, no one needed enumerated, detailed communication logs of every single way Kageyama used to be, and I quote from log 32-09-01 ‘uselessly adorable’ either, and yet here we are._

_—This is bullying! I’m being cyberbullied! This is why you’re Iwa-chan #2!_

 

 

 

*   *   *

 

 

 

Kageyama learns three different things very quickly in his first week.

One, that Oikawa’s prime lettuce specimen is called Iwa-chan #1.

Two, that the Iwaizumi-san back on Earth is called Iwa-chan #2.

Three, that the moment he confuses these two will be, without fail, the moment Oikawa forgets to tell him _exactly_ how artificial the artificial gravity cycle is on the space colony.

“How can you possibly mix up these two Iwa-chans when I’ve finally managed to grow a nicer, more civilised Iwa-chan who doesn’t talk back to me!” Oikawa pointedly holds up the planter he’s carrying, the spiky peaks of the young lettuce leaves swaying gently as if in agreement. “And he listens to absolutely everything I say!”

“Iwaizumi-san is paid to listen to you,” Kageyama frowns as he pushes to keep up with Oikawa. They’re ferrying materials to the newly constructed research section, and Oikawa’s movements are smooth and assured as he quickly floats ahead down the narrow corridor.

“And maybe a _certain kouhai_ of mine should, too!” Oikawa bristles, not slowing down at all. “Or Oikawa-san will also have to grow a new and better and even cuter Tobio-chan #2!”

The corridor opens up like the sky is falling away from them, the high ceiling a curve of glass, starfield wheeling all around, and Kageyama’s heart lifts up a little into his throat, too. He reaches for the railing to steady himself. “I'm Tobio-chan #1?”

“Absolutely not! You’re #3, there is no such thing as a Tobio-chan #1,” Oikawa huffs, white tail of his lab coat fluttering indignantly as he whips around to wrinkle his nose at Kageyama. “And maybe instead of running after my coattails you should be more concerned about your own research. I know you’re angling to become the new darling of the space program. Don’t think I haven’t seen the way you look at me!”

Irritation flares hot in his chest. It’s sometimes hard to remember the reasons why he admired Oikawa during their academy days, even as he stares at Oikawa’s long fingers wrapped tight around the edges of the lettuce planter, trim and elegant even in blue latex gloves. He snaps his gaze over Oikawa’s shoulder, glaring at the stars around them as his cheeks burn.

The afterimage of Oikawa’s smirk prickles down the skin of his throat. Was Oikawa always _this_ — this much?

“We just started testing, Oikawa-san,” Kageyama manages to grind out instead.

Oikawa’s eyes glint with something that Kageyama doesn’t quite know how to read. “Better put that genius green thumb of yours to work, then. It’ll be hard if your precious flowers don’t bloom during the right gravity cycle.”

His grip on the railing slips for just a moment. He’s still not completely used to the fluctuating gravity of the colony. He doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to Oikawa in any kind of way at all. How does he even say that so much of his research was sparked by observing Oikawa in the lab all those years ago?

Kageyama opens his mouth to reply, but Oikawa immediately shushes him. “Keep up, Tobio-chan #3! They changed the schedule for the gravity cycle to today—”

There’s only one real thought in Kageyama’s head as his stomach, Iwa-chan #1, and Oikawa drop all at the same time— _Oikawa-san will kill me if anything happens to his stupid lettuce_.

Kageyama’s reflexes had always put him at the top of the class during flight training.

“What exactly are you doing?” A flustered voice.

Warm breath ghosts over his mouth as Kageyama shakes his vision clear, the world reorienting itself a little as the newly activated gravity settles into place. Did he catch the planter? Did he— adrenaline is tingling in his veins. It’s too warm. His hands—

“Oikawa-san!” Kageyama blurts out.

Oikawa is sprawled under him, backed up against the corridor wall, and his hands are braced against Oikawa’s thighs; the fabric of his pants is so thin they do absolutely nothing at all, and it’s like Oikawa’s naked skin is burning fever hot right under his fingers. The lettuce planter is gripped protectively against Oikawa’s chest where it had fallen, wet soil spilling into his lap; a few of the young lettuce sprouts have been uprooted.

Kageyama swallows thickly.

“You’re definitely being demoted to Tobio-chan #4 now.” If looks could kill.

Kageyama yanks his hands off Oikawa’s legs and braces himself against the wall instead as Oikawa’s glare knifes right through. He’s so close he can feel the rise and fall of Oikawa’s chest under him. Smell the sharp minty scent of the wipes Oikawa cleans up with after doing soil samples. It’s mixed in with the familiar ones from the lab — latex gloves, the metallic tang of ozone, a green so rich and full it smells like the earth after rain. Something sticks in Kageyama’s throat; he’s _frustrated_.

“Take responsibility! Carry the rest of the planters to the lab!”

“Yes, Oikawa-san.” He doesn’t know what else to say. His chest is still aching like he’s had the wind knocked out of him. Everything about Oikawa has always been overwhelming.

“And call me Oikawa-san #1 for the rest of the day.”

“Okay,” Kageyama glowers, but that young stupid something in him that has always wanted Oikawa to truly see him, adds anyway, “Okay, Oikawa-san #1.”

“You should sound more grateful for this opportunity.” Victory paints itself in a wide smug smile across Oikawa’s lips and suddenly every part of Kageyama is wholly, completely, stomach-twistingly aware of Oikawa’s long legs still pressing in on his sides. “Now get off me or I’ll start charging you by the hour.”

"Leg," Kageyama blurts in response.

Oikawa cocks an eyebrow.

"I mean, legs," he corrects unhelpfully. His scowl deepens. “Please move your legs.”

“Very eloquent, Tobio-chan #4," Oikawa leers. "That comment cost you 1000 yen."

"Oikawa-san, there’s no yen in space."

"Ten more milk packets then!”

 

 

 

*   *   *

 

 

 

_—Paging ground control! Oikawa Tooru to ground control! Do you copy?_

_—Ground control to mission specialist Oikawa Tooru. What do you want now?_

_—Ground control, why do you sound so unhappy talking to me? Something really bad happened earlier, you know! Tobio-chan almost killed me and Iwa-chan #1!_

_—...So? Would you like to file an incident report?_

_—Iwa-chan, don’t you care about me at all? Or your sibling? You’re so cold!_

_—According to the log, and I quote verbatim, you said, ‘Take responsibility! Carry the rest of the planters to the lab!’ From Kageyama’s response, seems like he readily obeyed. Then you said, ‘And call me Oikawa-san #1 for the rest of the day’, which he did right after. Then you demanded a thousand yen from him and when he didn’t have it, said ten more milk packets would do._

_—I don’t sound like that at all. And I was disciplining him like any good senpai should. He still has a lot to learn, you know._

_—Oh? So now you want to be a good senpai to him? That’s not what you said back at the academy or when he first got up there._

_—Augh, goodbye, ground control! I don’t need you anymore!_

 

 

 

*   *   *

 

 

 

“Tobio-chan!”

When Kageyama enters the lab to take his observations for the day and speak to the research team, Oikawa is unusually ecstatic to see him. The haughty smile on his face is a little different from what Kageyama is used to and that keeps him frozen at the doorway, hesitant to come inside any further. Something on Oikawa’s face seems brighter, which is a rarity whenever they’re around each other, and there’s an extra bounce in the way he floats that doesn’t escape Kageyama’s notice.

“Come in here already,” Oikawa orders as he gets closer to grab and drag Kageyama inside. “Our research was a success, so obviously you have to see it, for inspiration. You can even share it with Glasses-kun if you want.”

“You’re awfully excited,” someone off to the side comments with a laugh, but Oikawa just huffs and waves it off.

There isn’t even a chance for Kageyama to ask Oikawa what he’s talking about before he sees a fully ripened head of lettuce sitting on the lab bench. He catches Oikawa’s gaze and Oikawa is sporting one of his lopsided grins, a cross between a pride Kageyama’s come to know and a happiness he’s just seen for the first time. A breath catches in his throat, curls inside, stays there. The words he means to say fall apart on his tongue.

Kageyama thinks, _He looks good like that_ _._ Kageyama thinks, _I want to see this more_ _._ For a moment, he forgets what he’s even here for until Oikawa’s voice pulls him back to reality.

“Look, Iwa-chan’s grown up so well under our care!” Oikawa boasts. There’s an immediate burst of rapid, angry noise coming from Oikawa’s comm — sounding an awful lot like “ _SHITTYKAWA, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE_ ” — that distracts Kageyama before Oikawa quickly turns the volume dial down. “ _So_ , aren’t you impressed? You can praise your senpai, you know.”

Finally, Kageyama remembers to take a look at the head of lettuce, feeling a little sorry for Iwaizumi when he sees the _Iwa-chan_ label on the box.

The vegetable looks very much like its Earth counterpart, save for the smaller size. Its smooth green leaves are layered like a blooming flower. On Earth, this would’ve been ordinary, but in space, this is an indication of something more. It’s a food source. That means people will be able to live here. The dream of a lively space colony is that much closer now. Just the idea is enough to send static down Kageyama’s spine, a tremble, a pulse; that they share a vision together and that’s what’s brought them together here in this lab, only a metre apart.

During training years ago, even standing next to each other in the JAXA lab, he’d never felt this close to Oikawa. He’s still the obnoxious, scary Oikawa-san that Kageyama’s come to know — he’s just something more now. Something that Kageyama cannot find the words to describe but can feel in his chest, warm and budding.

“Anytime now, Tobio-chan.”

Oh, right. Oikawa is impatient and waiting and Kageyama is racking his brain for what to say before finally settling with, “You... and your team did a good job, Oikawa-san.”

It comes out fragmented, stumbled, awkward. Kageyama expects Oikawa to immediately pick apart what he says, like he always does, but what he finds is Oikawa with wide eyes and a gaping mouth, as if someone had pruned Iwa-chan #1 and stepped on it in front of him. There’s a brief, simultaneous flash of cold fear and hot anxiety that strikes Kageyama’s heart. Underneath the white laboratory lights, he watches as Oikawa’s face colours red. The last time he’d seen this was when they nearly avoided catastrophe in the corridor a while back, him hovering over Oikawa, a younger lettuce tilted haphazardly due to newly found gravity.

“Oi-Oikawa-san—”

“Yes, absolutely, I did do a good job,” Oikawa interrupts as he practically pushes Kageyama toward the exit despite Kageyama’s protests. “You and Glasses-kun better catch up to us fast. Anyway, unlike you, my adorably useless kouhai, I have a lot of work to do still, I just wanted you to see Iwa-chan #1 so you could see how far we’ve gotten.”

The door is closed in Kageyama’s face before he can even say anything. His mouth is open, then closed. There’s an eerie silence in the hallway.

“... _‘You and your team did a good job, Oikawa-san’?_ ”

When he suddenly hears Tsukishima’s snickering through the comm, Kageyama scowls.

“Tsukishima, you...”

“ _Yes?_ ”

Kageyama keeps quiet, unable to think of a proper response. More distantly, sounding far from the mic, Tsukishima says, “ _See, Iwaizumi-san, I don’t know why you have so much faith in him. He can barely give a compliment. Or communicate with me._ ”

Kageyama promptly silences the comm.

 

 

 

*   *   *

 

 

 

_—Mission specialist Oikawa Tooru to ground control. You won’t believe what Tobio-chan said to me!_

_—Ground control to mission specialist Oikawa. I heard everything. You patched me in for no good reason._

_—Ground control, no, but you had to be there._

_—I was basically there for fuck’s sake._

_—Ground control, wait, does that mean you’ve been talking to Glasses-kun? I know you are! Confess! You remember how Tobio-chan used to be, he couldn't even talk to people without sounding like they commited a crime, and now he gets along with Glasses-kun? What kind of demonic hold does he have over Tobio-chan? I won’t have it!_

_—The only demon here is you, Shittykawa. Sorry, mission specialist Shittykawa. But keep that up, I feel like I’m about to hit the jackpot._

_—Explain yourself, ground control!_

 

 

 

*   *   *

 

 

 

The space training program at the academy had been brutal.

Astrophysics, as Kageyama quickly found out, was not his strong suit. He had excelled in flight training, but lacked the innate navigation skills of a true interstellar pilot like Hinata, who had whooped in delight right into his goddamn ear after being accepted into the space colony program before Kageyama had even finished his undergrad.

But from somewhere within the patchwork garden of his heart, Kageyama had, in his third year at JAXA’s special colony research program, successfully germinated a full seed plot of _asteraceae bellis perennis_ from the notoriously temperamental artificial soil beds suspended in the zero gravity lab.

(“ _Daisies_ , Iwa-chan. He grew _daisies_. Can he be any more annoying? Everyone knows _asteraceae lactuca sativa_ is the star of the family. What’s this little genius doing showing off in my lab, anyway?” Oikawa had pouted ferociously from behind the glass safety barrier of what was, as Iwaizumi always liked to immediately point out, not actually _his_ personal lab, despite the fact that Oikawa used to spend so much time holed up in there, Iwaizumi sometimes found him napping fitfully in slow free fall in the spacewalk storage, glasses askew, curled up in between the pillowy white spacesuits.

“Maybe he just wants you to notice him, Oikawa- _senpai_.”

“Don’t mock my pain, Iwa-chan!”)

But it had never really been just about flowers. It had been about _trees_.

“ _So how’s the king settling in his new kingdom?_ ” Tsukishima drawls over the comm.

Kageyama frowns loudly as he pushes out into the wide open field of the space colony’s A.I.R. lab.

An irritated sigh in his ear. He can almost hear Tsukishima pinching the bridge of his nose under his glasses. “ _I refuse to decode your subhuman grunting. Talk to me, or else submit your official observations to the team, so I can at least have the honour of reading your terrible writing in the peace and quiet of my own home._ ”

Tsukishima had been assigned as his lab partner in their first year of undergrad — a stubborn, unyielding partnership that everyone had thought was going to end with a body count. But Tsukishima had been so thoroughly and impressively disgusted by his graceless lab reports, he had stuck by him until Kageyama had rewritten them to some semblance of readability, and had somehow ended up sticking by him beyond that, too. It had been Tsukishima who sifted through five years of Kageyama’s infamously impenetrable data; had compiled it into the grant proposal that had landed them both their current placement with the JAXA astrobotany research lab.

“The trees.” Kageyama sucks in air through his teeth. It tastes sweet with spring and he feels almost lightheaded with it. The glass dome that curves over the A.I.R. lab is so high and clear it’s like there’s no real roof at all — just endless starlight tracing a faint glow through the twin rows of sakura trees in full bloom. “They’re flowering.”

“ _Flowering cycle confirmed._ ” Tsukishima sounds almost bored, but after so many years working together, he can hear the little telltale intake of breath. It’s not the first breakthrough they’ve celebrated. From seed to flower to pollination to— Kageyama knows Tsukishima is also thinking the same thing. They’re so close to replicating a sustainable oxygen cycle. Another pause. “ _We’ll be able to fast track the A.I.R. program now. Nice work_.”

Kageyama drifts gently in between cloudbursts of sakura, whisper soft and weightless against his fingers reaching high toward the canopy of stars; his entire body feels electric with possibility. It’s— it’s beautiful. It’s like waking up in a dream of Earth. It fills up the whole of his lungs and everything feels like the future is finally right here, _right now_ , and he doesn’t think he can ever breathe deep enough of it, and all he can manage is, “We did it, Tsukishima.”

“I knew it!” The reverie breaks. An aggressive cloud of petals blush pink against Oikawa’s cheek as he pushes away from the lab’s entrance and floats right into Kageyama’s space. “How long have you been this friendly with Glasses-kun?”

Kageyama never doubted that one day he’d succeed, but he never expected it to be Oikawa here beside him. This, somehow, inexplicably, since that very first day in the zero gravity lab when he saw Oikawa coax stubborn seedlings to bloom, is where he’s always wanted to be.

Even if Oikawa’s bottom lip is sticking out, petulant and demanding.

“I work with him, Oikawa-san.”

“How convenient!”

A scatter of noise in Kageyama’s ear. “ _I’m still here, you know,_ ” Tsukishima comments dryly.

The warm pulse of Oikawa’s wrist brushes his cheek. Seconds tumble into each other and for one too-long moment, fear and hope clench his chest so hard he thinks he stops breathing; but Oikawa only deftly plucks Kageyama’s earpiece and pockets it. Irritation pinches Oikawa’s brow, immediately softens as another flush of petals tangles itself in Kageyama’s hair.

Even softer, “You and your team did a good job.” Oikawa’s mouth twists into a sort of smile.

Is— is Oikawa making fun of him? But Oikawa is so close and, unexpectedly, a warm weight falls on his shoulder. He can feel the heat of Oikawa’s skin even through the lab gloves and all the air in the entire lab suddenly feels like it’s not enough.

“You did a good job, Tobio-chan.”

_Oikawa-san said I did good job._

Kageyama thinks his heart might spill out of his chest. He wants to say, _It was from watching you. It’s because we’ve always wanted the same thing._

There’s starlight deep and dark in Oikawa’s eyes as he stares intently at him. Sakura whirls around them like gravity is holding time completely still and Kageyama can’t stop looking at Oikawa’s mouth, flushed pink like the petals that crown him.

Oikawa’s lips part slightly. Kageyama is leaning in so close he can feel the phantom movement of them against his own. Everything in him aches.

“What do you want, Tobio-chan #1? Ask your senpai nicely for it,” Oikawa breathes against his mouth.

_“Holy shit, is Shittykawa really gonna do it?”_

Oikawa’s comm pings again. Another voice, as if from a distance. _“Is it too late to double my bet, Iwaizumi-san?”_

Kageyama startles and inhales so sharply, his mouth fills with sakura; he chokes, doubling over as he coughs up petals. A hand braces him, still there — _oh, he’s still there_ — still so, so warm, and when he looks up, tears of pain prickling the corner of his eyes, he sees Oikawa laughing helplessly, face turned toward the stars, and Kageyama thinks again not for the first time, _I want to see this more. I want to be here for everything._

 

 

 

*   *   *

 

 

 

_—Oikawa Tooru to ground control, explain this bet that Glasses-kun was talking about!_

_—Ground control to Oikawa Tooru. We have to entertain ourselves down here somehow. This is the least you deserve._

_—You’re so mean, Iwa-chan!_

_—So, ‘ask your senpai nicely for it,’ huh? You complimented him, even. We’ve truly come full circle._

_—Be quiet, ground control! Why are you betting money on your best friend like this?_

_—My money’s on Kageyama._

_—What? You’d bet against mission specialist Oikawa Tooru? Of course, as the older one, I have to make the move first. I can’t let Tobio-chan beat me. Wait, I’m not done talking to you, ground control!_

 

 

 

*   *   *

 

 

 

It’s quiet just outside the colony, the low hum of whirring machines below. From where he and Oikawa are floating, dressed in their spacesuits, Earth is large and round and distant, brightened by the halo of the sun behind it. They watch wordlessly as cities light up golden one by one, their occupants being lulled to sleep — except Kageyama cannot feel even a thread of sleepiness with such a sight in front of him and Oikawa so close, drifting mere centimetres away.

The silence isn’t uncomfortable, but it’s heavy with things left unsaid and unfinished. Kageyama recalls the taste of sakura petals in his mouth and Oikawa’s laughter. The pure, unbridled joy he’d witnessed would’ve been enough if it weren’t for the nagging _want_ in his ribcage to truly feel Oikawa’s lips against his; the memory of Oikawa’s breath melting into his own is nowhere near enough after almost getting a taste.

Kageyama’s not brave enough yet to take the leap he has to, so he tests the waters first.

“It’s, it’s never going to be the same after this, huh?”

He’s not sure what he’s referring to: the view or whatever seems to be growing between them.

“Yeah, you’re right, Tobio-chan.”

Kageyama isn’t sure which Oikawa’s talking about either. Kageyama, with a little apprehension stirring in his heart, peers over at Oikawa, but Oikawa isn’t looking at him like he expects. Oikawa’s gaze is still on Earth; even through the helmet, Kageyama can still see the sharp outline of Oikawa’s profile, contrasted by the soft smile on his lips, a borrowed glow from the far sun illuminating him. Oikawa looks peaceful and gentle and though Kageyama hasn’t seen this Oikawa very much, he thinks — realises — that he likes this one, too.

He recalls the press of Oikawa’s hand on his shoulder distracting him from the scattering petals. He recalls even more the intimacy of Oikawa’s mouth nearly meeting his own; warm, and so achingly close.

How long have they been in this dance with each other, stepping in time? And how long must Kageyama wait until the boundary has been crossed, interruptions long gone?

It’s only the two of them right here and now, suspended in the middle of a starfield, stepping into a future that they’ll eventually share together.

Summoning courage, Kageyama reaches over to take Oikawa’s hand and when Oikawa turns to face him, asks, “Oikawa-san, can I kiss you?”

“You stupid kouhai, aren’t you already trying without getting permission from me?” Oikawa’s words are sharp as usual, but his tone is soft at the edges and he’s also leaning in and Kageyama’s heart is beating ridiculously loud in his ears and the centimetres are closing between them and—

His helmet bumps into something hard. Kageyama’s forehead hits the plastic.

He curses and instinctively reaches up to try and rub his forehead, only to realise the helmet is blocking his way. When he turns to look at Oikawa, Oikawa seems to be the same, reeling from the pain.

Kageyama opens his mouth to say something. Oikawa’s glare promptly silences him.

“...we’ll finish this later, Tobio-chan.”

Kageyama can only nod, questions defeated by Oikawa’s promise.

 

 

 

*   *   *

 

 

 

 _No matter how many light years away you are from Earth,_  
_there’s always some things you can bet on._

 

“It’s about what you can make bloom,” Oikawa smiles. He’s looking ahead.

Another year, and another season of spring that feels like they never left Earth at all, up here on the colony where half the time Kageyama’s feet don’t even touch the ground, and sakura petals hang suspended like infinite particles that fill up the whole dark of space.

There’s a entire grove of them now.

Warm fingers circle around his wrist, pressing right onto the pulse; Kageyama’s heartbeat skips under Oikawa’s fingertips, the gloves that he usually wears nowhere to be seen. His skin tingles, sensitive at the unusual contact, and for a moment, all he can do is stare at Oikawa, at the softness of Oikawa’s smile eclipsing even the starlight that glows on his shoulders; Oikawa standing here, holding his hand.

He’s been asking for so long and suddenly, now, his words stick in his throat.

Oikawa smirks and pinches the skin on the inside of his arm. “What nasty thoughts are you thinking, Tobio-chan?”

“You!” Kageyama yelps in surprise and shakes his arm, scowling.

But Oikawa doesn’t let go of his hand. “ _Good_ ,” Oikawa says, or Kageyama thinks he says, because suddenly the words are pressed right against his mouth, warm, wet, that flush of pink that’s been clouding his nights for months and months.

Kageyama kisses back, and the stars overhead clear their path.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, hey, did you know lettuce and daisies are from the same family.
> 
> Shout out to the following winners:  
> \- [JAXA on space food so we know exactly how viscous space curry is](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVHtH1-5u1A)  
> \- [Sunita Williams giving us a delightful tour of the International Space Station](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGP6Y0Pnhe4)  
> \- [what goes through Oikawa's head, probably](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP5kC9fJAUE)
> 
> [And our cursed playlist.](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7uPLKMvgCgtxqDdzIIuTqRh8eV-o1P_z)
> 
> This started this as a collab for something else buuuut it truly belongs to Oikage Day because it is always Oikage Day in our hearts.


End file.
